Appeal to keep tabs on graffiti vandals

Husnu Cetin, manager of the Trident Fish bar in Victoria Road, is the latest victim of the spate of town centre graffiti as police appeal for residents to identify the tags

POLICE are hunting for further instances of graffiti following a spate of scrawls around the town centre at the end of last month.

On March 29 a number of the distinctive tags were found around Cambria Place, and following investigations more have been found in the town centre, including on the shutters of Trident Fish Bar on Victoria Road.

Owner Husnu Cetin, 37, said he would have to shut his shop and lose a days worth of business to get the paint cleaned off properly.

“The first thing I did when I saw the state of the shutter was check the CCTV,” he said. “It was very clear. He did next door’s window as well because they did not have a shutter up.

“This is the first time something like this has happened to me, and I have been here for a year and a half now. I just could not understand what motive would be behind that and why people do it.”

Husnu took to social media instantly to try to identify the culprit and had an impressive response from his business page.

“I captured an image and put it on my Facebook page,” he said. “Straight away I had a caller saying that he knew the guy. Then people started putting up posts saying they had the same thing done to them.”

All information has now been passed to Wiltshire Police as part of their investigations, but Husnu has still been left at a loss.

“To put this right I will have to paint it,” he said. “Next door just cleaned their window, but I would have to close for a day and lose that business on top of the costs to get it put right professionally.

“Eventually I will have to do it because this is still the image of my business outside the shop when we are closed.”

A 19-year-old man has been questioned in relation to the offences and has been released on police bail while further enquiries are made.

PC Jansen Carter, beat manager for Kingshill, said he is keen for anyone who has seen the distinctive markings to identify them to police.

“We have had a group in the past going around making similar markings, but it seems that these have been done independently of them,” he said.

“Following investigations we have found a number of these tags being made around the town centre, but we are looking for any more examples which have been made in recent weeks to determine the extent of the offences.”

Anyone with any information about the locations of the markings should contact Wiltshire Police on non-emergency number 101 and ask for PC Jansen Carter.